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My Awesome Knee Pain

My knee pain has become so bad that I can’t walk on it or bend my knee without pain. It’s not permanent (I don’t think). It seems like an illiotibial band (ITB) flare up. But it means I need to take a break from running and pull myself back together. I’m so angry and frustrated right now. I think I’m out of the challenge.

that’s right where it hurts

I don’t know what happened. I don’t think I was overdoing things with this #RWRunStreak challenge. I dropped down on days I felt were too much and my total weekly mileage was still on the low side. I was gradually increasing mileage because of my new run shoes anyway (Altra flats). It can’t have been the challenge.

All of a sudden, yesterday around noon, my knee started feeling progressively worse. I could barely walk around on it. And I STILL did my 1 mile run on the treadmill! Because this is bullshit and I don’t want to quit the challenge! I love the challenge! It hurt so bad to run on it but I cranked up the incline to 6% and that helped ease the pain slightly. And I didn’t take ibuprofen because you’re not supposed to run with that in your system. After the run I opted for ice packs. Yet here I am… throwing back 2 Motrin now so that I can walk without dragging my leg behind me. I feel defeated.

The spouse and my run buddy have both said that I need to stop and take a break and rehab the knee for the more important marathon season training that is almost here. I know that makes sense, but I’m so pissed about this!!! I was doing everything right!!! … ok I may not have been stretching my ITB like I should have been, but I didn’t stretch it through last marathon training and was fine! There was one time though when the spouse came to talk to me while I was on the treadmill, a few days ago, where I turned my whole body to talk and tweaked my knee pretty bad. At the time I was like, oh no! But then it seemed fine. And now that knee is the one that hurts. I don’t know if it’s related or not.

I still don’t know what to do. I hate quitting. And if I quit this challenge, it means that I have to accept that my leg is pretty bad and that I will probably be taking a week off of running while I try and rehab it. And that makes me so upset!!! I have a set plan of set mileage I have to hit before the July start date for official marathon training!! (this is according to Runner’s World marathon training plan, but if I followed another plan like Hal Higdon or something, the plan may have already started!!) I don’t want to take a week off! I was running 12 miles runs only a couple months ago and now I’m taking a week off and haven’t even run a 7 miler in over a month?! This is going the opposite direction!!

Well that’s where I’m at. I think I had roadblocks during last year’s training too but maybe I blocked them out. I am trying to tell myself that letting go of the #RWRunStreak does not mean I won’t PR in the marathon in October. I’ll get back to plan soon… but, for this week, I think I’m just going to be a grumpy non-runner who is in a wicked mood about failed plans.

so sick of learning new stuff! I just want to feel better!

UPDATE:

I ran the slowest mile tonight that I’ve ever run in my life. But a mile is a mile and I did it. I had a lot of Motrin in my system (only technically, because it had already been 5 hours) so maybe that was the reason I could even finished. But now I see tomorrow is frickin National Running Day. Are you serious?! Of course when I’m down and out! Guess I’ll see what happens tomorrow.